Welcome to our blog post on Class 10 English Chapter 1: “A Letter to God.” In this post, we will provide you with the question and answers for this chapter as per the SEBA (Assam Board of Secondary Education) curriculum.
“A Letter to God” is a heart-wrenching story about a poor farmer named Rafael who writes a letter to God, asking for help in the midst of a terrible drought that has ruined his crops and left his family starving. Through this chapter, we are reminded of the power of faith and the importance of never losing hope, even in the darkest of times.
In this post, we will take a closer look at the key themes and messages of the chapter, as well as provide in-depth answers to the SEBA-prescribed questions. By the end of this post, you will have a thorough understanding of this poignant and thought-provoking story.
From First Flight -Text Book Question:
1. What did Lencho hope for?
Ans: Lencho hoped for a shower or a downpour so that he had a good harvest.
2. Why did Lencho say that the raindrops were ‘like new coins’?
Ans: The raindrops would give nourishment to the crops in Lencho’s field which in turn would ensure a good harvest. A good harvest would bring him a good amount of money. So Lencho said that the raindrops were like new coins.
3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s field?
Ans: The rain changed into a hailstorm. Big hailstones dropped from the sky.
Everything in Lencho’s field was destroyed. The crops, the flowers and the leaves on the trees were all damaged. The hailstones covered the field. It looked as if it was covered with salt. The whole field wore a white look.
4. What was Lencho’s feeling, when the hail stopped?
Ans: Lencho felt that the hail, had left nothing and that year they would have no corn. All their work went in vain. Since there was no one to help them, they would go hungry that year. Such was Luncho’s thought after the hail had stopped.
5. Who or on what did Lencho have faith? What did he do?
Ans: Lencho had faith in God. He wrote a letter to God asking for one hundred pesos.
6. Who read the letter?
Ans: The postmaster read the letter.
7. What did the postmaster do after he had received Lencho’s letter?
Ans: The postmaster did not like to shake the faith of the writer. He decided to help the man. Accordingly, he collected money and sent seventy pesos to Lencho, the writer of the letter.
8. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
Ans: No, Lencho was not at all surprised.
9. What made him angry?
Ans: Lencho turned angry after he had counted the money. He begged God to send him one hundred pesos. When he found seventy pesos only he, turned angry because he thought that God could not make such a mistake.
10. Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?
Ans: Lencho had full faith in God. The following sentences in the story tell this.
(i) Lencho thought only of his one hope: the help of God…..in one’s conscience.
(ii) God, he wrote, “If you don’t help me…………. this year.
(iii) He wrote “To God’ on the envelope……… went to town.
(iv) Lencho showed not the little surprise on seeing the money such was his confidence….
(v) God: Of the money that I asked for only ……. I meet it very much.
11. Why did the postmaster send money to Lencho?
Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
Ans: The postmaster wondered at Lencho’s deep faith in God. He did not like to shake his faith. So he sent him the money so that he would think that God had granted his appeal.
The postmaster signed the letter ‘God’ so that Lencho would believe that it was really God who had sent him the money.
12. Did Lencho try to find out who sent the money to him? Why/ why not?
Ans: No, Lencho did not try to find out who had sent him the money. Because of his unwavering faith in God, he thought that it was none but God who sent him money.
13. Who does Lencho think has taken the ‘rest of the money’? What is the irony in the situation?
Ans: Lencho thinks that the employees in the post office, whom he had termed as a bunch of crooks, have taken the rest of the money.
The irony in the situation is that the same postmaster and his employees who had raised money and sent it to Lencho are suspected of taking away some of the money that Lencho believed, God had sent him.
14. Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person would you say he is?
Ans: Yes, there are people like Lencho in the real world, who have unwavering faith in God and His grace. Lencho is a naive, unquestioning man. But he is stupid who could write a letter addressed to God Probably he believed that the postal service was there in heaven also. He is ungrateful to his fellowmen as out of stupidity he could not think that his fellowmen could help him. Of course that is the irony in the story.
15. There are two kinds of conflict in the story, between humans and nature and humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated?
Ans: The first conflict in the story is between man and nature. Lencho and his family expected a shower or downpour so that they might have good crops. In fact, the raindrops delighted Lencho so much that he compared them with coins. But the situation changed. The rain was followed by a destructive hailstorm that completely damaged his crops. He was afraid of starvation during the year.
The situation shows how man has to struggle against natural forces for his existence and survival. The second situation is the conflict between Lencho and the postmaster and the employees of the post office.
With a view to not shaking Lencho’s faith in God the postmaster and the employees sent seventy pesos to Lencho as they could not collect the one hundred pesos that Lencho wanted from God.
He could not imagine the benevolent act of the postmaster and called them a bundle of crooks who he thought had taken away thirty pesos as he believed that God could not send less than what he wanted. Mistrust of man on fellow men caused the conflict between man and man.
MCQ
1. Lencho’s house was situated –
(i) in a city.
(ii) in a valley.
(iii) on the crest of a low hill.
(iv) on the beach
Ans: (iii) on the crest of a low hill.
2. What covered the Lencho’s field after hail-
(i) salt
(ii) hailstones
(iii) ice
(iv) None
Ans. (ii) hailstones
3. The word ‘amiable’ means –
(i) fat
(ii) friendly
(iii) holy man
(iv) serious
Ans: (iii) holy man
4. The woman was preparing –
(i) Lunch
(ii) Supper
(iii) Breakfast
(iv) Nothing
Ans: (ii) Supper
5. Rain drops are compared with-
(i) New Coins
(ii) Silver coins
(iii) Gold coins
(iv) 5 Rupees coins
Ans: (i) New Coins
6. Who is the ox of a man-
(i) Postmaster
(ii) Lencho
(iii) Lencho’s sons
(iv) All of above
Ans. (ii)Lencho
7. Leacho saw towards North-East-
(i) a tample
(ii) a mountain
(iii) a mountain of clouds
(iv) a valley
Ans: (iii) a mountain of clouds
7. Pesos means –
(i) Latin America
(ii) Currency of Latin America
(iii) Australian currency
(iv) Coins
Ans: (ii) Currency of Latin America
Additional Questions & Answers
A. Multiple Choice Questions [MCQ] and answers:
Q. 1. Lencho’s house was situated –
(i) In a city
(ii) in a valley
(iii) on the crest of a low hill.
(iv) on the beach
Ans: (iii)
Q. 2. What covered the Lencho’s field after the hail-
(i) salt
(ii) hailstones
(iii) ice
(iv) none of above
Ans: (ii)
Q. 3. The word ‘amiable’ means –
(i) fat
(ii) friendly
(iii) holy man
(iv) serious
Ans: (ii)
Q. 4. The woman was preparing –
(i) lunch
(ii) supper
(iii) breakfast
(iv) Nothing
Ans: (ii)
Q. 5. Rain drops are compared with-
(i) new coins
(ii) silver coins
(iii) gold coins
(iv) 5 Ruppes coins
Ans: (i)
Q. 6. Leacho saw towards North-East-
(i) a tample
(ii) a mountain of clouds
(iii) a mountain of clouds
(iv) a valley
Ans: (iii)
Q. 7. Pesos means –
(i) Latin America
(ii) Currency of Latin America
(iii) Australian currency
(iv) Coins
Ans: (ii)
Q. 8. Who is the ox of a man –
(i) Postmaster
(ii) Lencho
(iii) Lencho’s sons
(iv) All of above
Ans: (ii)
B. Very Short Answer Type Questions and Answers Bearing one
Q. 1. Choose the meaning of the underlined words from the alternatives given in brackets :
(i)….. who lived in that solitary house. (lonely/noisy/crowded) [MQ]
(ii) The postman – a fat amiable …. (kind hearted/cruel/arrogant).
(iii) The field of ……….. flowers drapped in a curtain. (covered/washed/bound)
(iv)…….. experiencing the contentment of a man. (pleasure/sorrow/satisfaction) [HSLC 2016]
(v) Send me the rest, since I need it very much
Ans:
(i) lonely (ii) kindhearted (iii) covered (iv) satisfaction (v) remaining part
(vi) The house the only one in the entire valley sat on the crest of a low hill. [HSLC 2017]
Ans: (i) lonely (ii) kindhearted (iii) covered (iv) satisfaction (v)the remaining part (vi) whole
Q.2. How many houses were there in the entire valley?
Ans: There was only one house in the entire valley.
Q.3. Where was the house in the valley situated?
Ans: The house was situated on the crest of a low hill.
Q.4. What were the things that could be seen from the house? [HSLC 2019]
Ans: From the house, one could see the river and the field with ripe corn dotted with flowers.
Q.5. “The only thing the earth needed……What ‘only thing ‘did the earth need?
Ans: The only thing that the earth needed was a downpour or at least a shower.
Q.6. Who was Lencho?
Ans: Lencho was a farmer.
Q.7. What did Lencho do throughout the morning? What did he see in the Northeast? [HSLC.’18]
Ans: Throughout the morning Lencho did nothing else but see the sky towards the northeast. In the northeast, he saw huge mountains of cloud.
Q.7(a). What did Lencho do to his sons after the hail storm? [HSLC.’20]
Ans: Lencho told his sons that a plague of locusts would have left more than what had been left by the hailstorm.
Q.8. What was the woman doing? [HSLC’18]
Ans: The woman was preparing supper.
Q.9. What could be seen in the northeast?
Ans: In the northeast huge mountains of cloud could be seen.
Q.10. Where was Lencho’s home situated? [HSLC 2016]
Ans: Lencho’s home was situated on the crest of a low hill overlooking the valley.
Q.11. What did fall along with the rain?
Ans: Hailstones fell along with the rain.
Q. 12. What did the hailstone resemble?
Ans: The hailstone resembled new silver coins.
Q. 13. Why did the boys run out to the rain?
Ans: The boys ran out to the rain to collect the frozen pearls. (hailstones)
Q. 14. Did the rain pass of quickly?
Ans: No, the rain did not passed off quickly.
Q. 15. For how long did the hail rain?
Ans: The hail rained for an hour.
Q. 16. How did the field look after the hail storm? –
Ans: After the hailstorm, the field looked white as it was covered with snow.
Q. 17. How did Lencho feel after the hail storm?
Ans: After the hailstorm, Lencho’s soul was filled with sadness.
Q. 18. What hope was there in the hearts of the inmates of the house?
Ans: Their only hope was from God.
Q.19. Why do Lencho asked his sons not to be so upset?
Ans: Lencho asked his sons not to be upset because he said that no one died of hunger. All through the might, Lencho thought only of his own hope.
Q.20. What was the only hope of Lencho? [HSLC 2017, ’20]
Ans: Lencho’s only hope was the help of God.
Q. 21. What had been instructed to Lencho?
Ans: Lencho had been instructed that God’s eyes see everything, even what is deep in one’s consciousness.
Q. 22. To whom did Lencho write a letter?
Ans: Lencho wrote a letter to God.
Q. 23. Where did Lencho drop his letter?
Ans: Lencho dropped his letter into the mailbox.
Q. 24. Why did the postman laugh heartily? [HSLC 2019]
Ans: The postman laughed heartily to find the letter addressed to God.
Q. 25. What type of a man was the postmaster?
Ans: The postmaster was a fat amiable man.
Q. 26. What did the postmaster do immediately after receiving the letter addressed to God?
Ans: The postmaster broke out in laughter to see the letter addressed to God.
Q. 27. What did Lencho write on the envelope?
Ans: Lencho wrote “To God” on the envelope.
Q.28. What was evident when the postmaster opened the letter?
Ans: When the postmaster opened the letter it was evident that he needed something more than goodwill, ink, and paper.
Q.29. How much money could the postmaster send to Lencho?
Ans: The postmaster could send to Lencho- a little more than half of Lencho wanted.
Q.30. How much money did Lencho seek from God?
Ans: One hundred pesos.
Q.31: Why could not the postmaster send to Lencho one hundred pesos?
Ans: The postmaster could not gather one hundred pesos and so he could not send it to Lencho.
Q.32. Why did Lencho write to God not to send the rest of the money through the mail?
Ans: Because Lencho thought that the post office employees were a bunch of crooks.
Q.33. How much money did Lencho receive?
Ans: Lencho received seventy pesos only.
Q.34. Who sent the money to Lencho?
Ans: The postmaster sent the money to Lencho.
Q.35. Why could not the postmaster send one hundred pesos to Lencho? [HSLC-2015]
Ans: The postmaster could not send one hundred pesos because he could not collect the whole amount.
Q.36. What is peso?
Ans: Peso is the currency of several Latin American countries.
Q.37. Why did Lencho become angry when he counted the money? [HSLC. ’22]
Ans: Lencho became angry when he counted the money because he got seventy pesos instead of the hundred pesos he wanted.
B. Short Answer Type Questions and Answers Bearing 2 marks each:
Q. 1. Briefly describe Lenchos’s house.
Ans: Lencho’s house was situated on the crests of a low hill. It was the only house in the entire valley. From the height where the house was situated could be seen the river and the field of ripe corn dotted with flowers.
Q. 2: What was Lencho doing that morning before the storm raged?
Ans: Throughout the morning Lencho did nothing but watch the sky towards the northeast. He was expecting a much needed downpour or shower. He told his wife that they were really going to get some water.
Q. 3. What were the boys doing when the woman was preparing supper?
Ans: While the woman was preparing supper, the older boys were working in the field, and the smaller ones were working in the field.
Q. 4. What had happened during the meal?
Ans: While Lencho and his sons were taking the meal, as predicted by Lencho, big drops of rain began to fall.
Q. 5. What did Lencho do during the rain?
Ans: When it rained Lencho went out to feel the touch of raindrops on his body.
Q. 6. What did Lencho exclaim when he returned from the rain?
Ans: Returning from the rain Lencho said that those were not raindrops falling from the sky, they were new coins. The big drops were ten cent pieces and the little ones were fives.
Q. 7. With what did Lencho compare the raindrops?
Ans: Lencho compared the raindrops with cents. He said that the big drops were ten cents and the little ones five.
Q. 8. What did Lencho see as he regard the field?
Ans: As Lencho regarded the field of ripe corn with flowers it seemed as if everything had been drapped in a curtain of rain.
Q. 9. “It’s really getting bad now.” Why did Lencho say so?
Ans: The rain turned into a hail storm. Large hailstones began to fall which truly resembled new silver coins. Lencho was afraid that the hail stones would damage the ripe corn. So he said so.
Q. 10. “I hope it passes quickly.” Who is the ‘I’? What is meant by ‘it’?
Ans: The ‘I’ here is Lencho. ‘It’ means the hail storm.
Q. 11. “The field was white as if covered with salt.” Why?
Ans: The hail rained for an hour. It fell on the house, the garden, the hillside the cornfield, the whole valley. The hailstones covered everything giving the entire area a white look. The field seemed covered with salt.
Q.12. ‘But don’t send it to me through the mail because the post office employees are a bunch of crooks’, said Lencho. Find the irony in the situation.
Ans: The irony involved in the above quoted statement of Lencho is that he doubted the integrity of the men who did him the best possible help. The postmaster and his employees raised money and sent to Lencho seventy pesos. Lencho thought that the money had been sent by God. It is human nature to doubt and sometimes even harm those who do the good service in times of need. Lencho remains the best example of it.
Q. 12. “Lencho’s soul was filled with sadness.” Why? [HSLC.’18]
Ans: The hail storm had destroyed Lencho’s cornfield and everything in the wholé Valley. The corn was totally destroyed. The flowers were gone from the plants and not a leaf remained on the trees. Seeing the destruction Lencho’s soul was filled with sadness.
Q. 13. “But don’t send it to me….. are a bunch of crooks” What made Lencho think that the post office employees were a bunch of crooks?[HSLC 2016]
Ans: Lencho wrote to God to send him one hundred pesos only. He could not believe that God could send only seventy pesos and make such a mistake. He thought that the post office employees had misappropriated the balance amount. His mistrust of the post office employees made Lencho think of them as a bunch of crooks.
Q. 14. What did Lencho write in his letter to God? [HSLC 2019]
Ans: Lencho wrote to God that if he did not help, his family would go hungry that year. He added that he needed a hundred pesos in order to sow his field again and to live until the crop would come again. He narrated how the hailstorm had damaged the field and everything.
Q. 15. How did Lencho post the letter to God?
Ans: Lencho wrote To God’ on the envelope and went to the town. At the post office, he placed a stamp on the envelope and dropped it in the mailbox.
Q. 16. What happened to the letter written to God?
Ans: As Lencho dropped the letter into the mailbox a postman went to his boss laughing and showed it to him. In his career as a postman never had he known a letter addressed to God.
Conclusion:
The Class 10 English Chapter 1: “A Letter to God” question answers provided in this blog post have aimed to deepen your understanding of this powerful and moving story.
Through these answers, we have explored the key themes and messages of the chapter, as well as analyzed the character of Rafael and the impact of poverty on his life.
We hope that this post has helped you to gain a greater appreciation for this chapter and that it will serve as a valuable resource as you continue your studies.
As you move forward, remember to keep an open mind and to always strive for a deeper understanding of the literature you encounter. Good luck in your future endeavors!